Vitreous insulator



' 1OO. COM OSITI NS. CROSS REFERENCE ExaminO? comma on PLASTIC 7 5 March 20, 1945.

A. 1. c. DELLOYE VITREOUS INSULATORS Filed Nov. 16. 1940 UNITEDsTATE-S was-11,930 in mm wsnemfq Lanai-e Laurent Camille Delloye,'Paris, France; i

vested intheAlien Property Custodian -For the purpose of manufacturing units for insulating heat and sound by the aid of threads of glass or other vitreous substances the hanks formed by these threads are spread out in superposed layers, which are then heaped up until each unit is of sufficient thickness for providing the required degree of insulation. Since this manufacture is carried out by hand it .is not possible to obtain a homogeneous product, for the 'degree of insulation, which is a function of the proportion between the quantity of glass threads and the quantity of air interposed between these threads per unit of volume, varies from point to point. Since the insulating power in such a unit does not exceed that of the zone at which the degree of insulation is weakest, it follows that the quantity of glass threads employed in the unit as a whole is much greater than the quantity really necessary for obtaining the same insulating power. To this disadvantage are to be added that of the cost of labour and that of the risks inherent in the manipulation of glass threads, which, when they break, are liable to. pier'cethe skin, the eyes, and the respiratory organs;

WIhe object of the present invention is to proride a method of manufacture which obviates these disadvantages. -This method consists in cutting the hanks of glass threads in such a manner that the cut threads are of a substantially uniform and reduced length, then disentangling these out threads in a current of fluid, and leaving the threads, thus disentangled, to settle out, thus forming a mattress or cushion, which is then dried and compressed in such a manner as to give it a thickness suitable for obtaining the degree of insulation required.

The invention further consists in the resulting new industrial product, the insulator for heat or sound or both, which consists of threads of glass or other vitreous substance, cut to a short and substantially constant length and agglomerated to form a uniform mixture, that is to say, a mixture in which the ratio between the quantity of glass threads and'the quantity of air interposed between these threads is practically constant. The length of the cut threads, which may be reduced to less than one centimetre, depends upon the dimensions and the form of the insulating unit to be produced.

The invention likewise comprises the insulating units incorporating this novel product, and the plant enabling the said process to be carried out.

Plant for carrying out the process according to the invention is atically illustrated by way of example in elevation, partly in section, in the accomp nyi drawing.

i'lhis plant comprises a table 1, upon which are spread out the hanks of threads of glass or other vitreous material, in which the threads are arranged approximateLv parallel to one another, an endless belt 2 for conveying the hanks to a cutter 3, which cuts the threads into portions of 'the same length, and an inclined plane 4. down which these portions slide, to fall into a chamber 5 by passin through a charging door 6.

Eompressed air is delivered tangentially to the tlower, part of the chamber- I through a pipe I provided with a cock 8.1v a.

l An evacuation pipe 8, which can be shut oil by means of a valve Ill, unites .the conical upper portion of the chamber 5 with the likewise conical upper portion H of a reservoir l2, the bottom 13 of which is equipped with a tubular connection I4, having a valve 15, and a flared outlet l6. j iThe reservoir l2 -may be filled with water or with some other liquid by means of a tube ll, provided with a cook I8. A pump is is connect- ,jed to'the upper partand to the lower part of the reservoir l2 by'two tubes 20 and 2| respectively, so as to produce therein an upward cirfpulation ofwatenl.

Below the flared aperture l6 are placed moulds 22 of a suitable form, which are movable upon wheels 23, and are provided with cocks 24, 25 and 26 at different levels for the discharge of water. A press 21 is provided for compressing the threads of glass which have been deposited in the moulds 22.

The apparatus hereinbefore described operates in the following manner: The speed of movement of the belt conveyor 2 and the cutting speed of the cutting machine 3 are so related to one another that the glass threads are cut to a uniform length, fixed in-advance. The cutting is stopped when the lengths of thread have been accumulated in suficient quantities in the chamber 5. The door Ii is then closed, and the air inlet cock 8 is opened, the valve III being closed. There is thus produced in the chamber 5 a whirling eddy of air,-which disentangles the threads. The valve III is then opened, the reservoir I! having been previously filled with water by opening the cock I8 and closing the valve l5. when all the threads, suitably disentangled, have been pmed from the chamber 5 through the tube 9 into the reservoir l2, the valve In is closed, and the pump I8 is started so as to produce an ascending current of liquid in the mixture filling the reservoir 12. The operations of transporting the hanks, cutting up the threads and feeding the chamber 5 may then be resumed. After completing the stirring of the threads in the liquid in the reservoir l2, the mould 22 is placed underneath the aperture l6 of the reservoir, the pump 19 is stopped and the valve I 5 opened. The glass threads then fall, with the water in which they were suspended, irogn the resprvoirdz-intp the mould g3, andthis waiter nows.away.thrduzh..tne cocks 24, 25 and 26, which are opened in succession from the lowest to the highest, so as to obtain a regular settling of the threads in the while obtaining in all respects the same predetere imined insulating power.

mould. The latter is then moved into a position" underneath the press 21, which compresses the;

threads deposited in the mould, the totality of these threads has a predetermined thickness. The product is then driedfi'" j To the liquid in the reservoir l2 there may be v w The specific gravity of these elements varies according to the initial compression to which the product accordin to the invention has been 215 subjected.

added a material such as soduim silicate, -which' is capable of subsequently forming a binding agent between the threads.

The discontinuous operations described'above may be so modified as to render them continuous. The treatment with water may moreover be omitted, provided the chamber 5 and the reservoir I2 are made of such forms and dimensions that the threads disentangled in the chamber 5 may be held in suspension "in the reservoir l2, and mayfall slowly into moulds or on to the conveyors. Finally, an analogous device may be provided for the treatment of threads or othermaterials, such as asbestos for example, the threads of glass and the threads of the other materials being projected simultaneously in predetermined proportions into the interior of a reservoirin which they are mixed togetherjand from which they are discharged 2E0! deposition in moulds or upon conveyors. I I

. The product formed by the threads, cut, deposited and suitably aggregated, is then enclosed in the usual manner in covers made of linen, paper, cardboard or other materials, in such a'manner as to form insulating units of suitable shapes and 7 Having now described my invention, what I as new and desire to secure by Letters Pate'ntisf h 1. An insulating material for heat or sound or 20 both, consisting of threads of glass, of a short jand substantially uniform length ,and .forming a? mixture in which the ratio between the quantity of threads of glass and the quantity of air per unit of volume interposed between these threads is practically constant.

2. An insulating material as claimed in claim -1,in which the cut lengths of threads are covcred witha'binding agent.

3. An insulating material as claimed in claim 1, in which the cut lengths 01 threads are coy.- ered with sodium silicate.

4 An insulating material for heat or sound or both comprising threads or glass and threads of asbestos of a short and substantially uniform an envelope length and forming a mixture in which the ratio between the quantity of threads and the quantity of-air interposed between these threads is practically constant.

5. An insualtor for heat or sound or both comprising threads of glass, of ashort and substantially uniform length and forming a mixture in which the ratio between the quantity of threads of glass and the quantity of air interposed between these threads is practically constant, and containing said agglomerated threads.

ANDRE LAURENT CAMILLE DELLOYE. 

